One Step
by Princess Caroline
Summary: Set between B/W and B2/W2. After the incident with Team Plasma at the Unova Pokemon League, the Striaton Brothers make their hardest decision, sending Cress to Johto to seek out a kind word and a gentle presence. Cress/Jasmine, based on a memory link event. -Working Title- -Oneshot-


_So I wrote this back in January, and I posted it on deviantART but not here on FanFiction. So I decided to change that. This is set during the two-year timeskip between Black/White and Black 2/White 2. I need to write more Cressmine stuff. Should probably get on some fanart too... The title is taken from a quote I heard somewhere. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." It's really more of a working title... still, hope you like it! ^_^_

_**WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR POKEMON BLACK 2 AND WHITE 2, PARTICULARLY REGARDING A CERTAIN MEMORY LINK FLASHBACK. ALSO MAYBE FOR POKEMON BLACK AND WHITE IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THOSE YET FOR ANY REASON. IF YOU DON'T WANT IT RUINED FOR YOU, TURN BACK NOW. DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU. THANK YOU.**_

_Pokemon belongs to Tajiri Satoshi-sensei and Nintendo._

* * *

"Here we are again, my friend," the young man remarked to the Panpour on his shoulder as the boat slid smoothly to a stop. "Olivine City..." Leaning down carefully so as not to knock his companion over, he gripped the handle of his duffel bag and pulled it alongside him as he made his way down the deck of the large ocean liner. With so much on his mind, Cress had barely noticed the time passing from when they pulled out of Castelia Harbor to when they had docked in Olivine.

He glanced idly at the slightly damp docks, the wind-swept sand on the beach, the lighthouse nearby dyed orange by the light of the setting sun - "It's been so long since I've been here. I had almost forgotten how beautiful this place was," he again remarked to his Pokemon. The breeze blowing through his azure hair made him feel comfortable - it felt familiar, like tasting a favorite childhood dessert after so many long years of growing up. At the same time, though, Johto was still a new place for him. He enjoyed it whenever he came here, though; to him, it was like adding a new ingredient to the old childhood dessert - familiar, but new.

"Pan panpour!" The blue monkey jumped onto the deck railing as they neared the boat's exit ramp and pointed. "Pour pan panpo!"

Cress's eyes traced along Panpour's arm and out until he saw what was being indicated; the Olivine Cafe had just begun turning on the lights decorating the patio dining area. He smiled. "Hungry, I take it? Haha, we'll go there after we stop at the Gym, okay?"

"Pan pan!"

He laughed. "Yeah, they do have good food there." Then his expression took on a slightly sad tone. "I wish Chili and Cilan could have come here... they would probably love it..." He sighed and began his way down the ramp onto the dock, Panpour jumping back onto his shoulder at the end.

No sooner had he reached the front door of the Steel-Type Gym than it opened to reveal a sandy-haired young lady. In one hand was a set of keys, presumably to lock up the Gym for the night. Her pale brown eyes widened in surprise upon seeing the man in front of her. "Cress?" A grin made its way across her face as she stepped forward and wrapped him in a hug. "Oh wow, I can't believe it! I didn't know you were coming! Oh, it's so great to see you!"

He smiled softly, wrapping his arms around her in kind as Panpour jumped from his shoulder to hers and began playing with one of her hairclips. "I'm sorry I didn't send advance notice, Jasmine. It's good to see you, too."

"Oh, that's okay. You know you're always welcome here!" Jasmine pulled away to look him in the eye better. "So what brings you to Johto? It's been a while since you-" That's when she noticed; normally his deep blue eyes had a kind of dazzle in them, like shining a light onto a gemstone. But now, they were dull, like wet construction paper. The smile on his face didn't match up with it. "Cress... what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Yes, actually. That's why I came..."

"Um, how about we go to the cafe and talk over dinner? Who knows, it may help you somehow..." Jasmine gestured to the duffel bag in his hand. "You can leave your things right inside, I was locking up anyway." Cress nodded a wordless thank you, still maintaining a smile that wasn't quite convincing, and set the bag down inside the Gym entrance. She reached forward with the key in hand, and with a satisfying click everything was shut up secure. "All right. We can come back afterwards and get you settled in, all right?"

"Thank you, Jasmine. I appreciate it a lot." The connoisseur hestitated for a split second, then gently linked his arm with Jasmine's once they had started walking. He let out a small, quiet laugh at the "Eep!" sound she made and tried to cover up - it was adorable how shy she was, especially around him, and the blush on her face even more so. Panpour chuckled in its monkey-ish way and moved to perch on top of Cress's head.

They walked the short distance in a comfortable silence, connected at the elbow, and she took the opportunity to study him a little more. Something had changed about him - but what? Jasmine wondered. He seemed distant and sad; it didn't suit him, and the subtle vibe of negativity around him left a sour taste in her mouth. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn't put her finger on exactly what she saw there...

"Ah, Miss Jasmine!" the maître d' greeted her when they arrived. "So wonderful to see you again! And I see you've brought your gentleman friend with you this time~" He wiggled his eyebrows playfully at Jasmine, making her squeak again and blush deeper and making Cress laugh. "Haha, it's a pleasure to see you again, sir!"

"The pleasure is mine," Cress replied, resting his right hand above his heart and bowing the way he always did.

The maître d' winked playfully at them. "Come, my friends! Your usual table in the corner is free!" With a skip in his step, he lead the two trainers across the patio to a small table decorated in a simple, elegant tablecloth of white with a vase of fresh-looking orchids.

Leaving two menus propped up next to the vase, the maître d' said something else Cress couldn't quite catch over the pounding waves and skipped off. "I see he's still as energetic as ever," he commented, pulling out one of the chairs for Jasmine. She nodded and sat down, the blush still on her face. Panpour jumped off of its trainer's head and onto one of the lights hanging down from the ceiling. "Panpour, don't break anything," Cress warned. The monkey saluted and climbed up the cord to the ceiling rafter, and from there up to the outermost layer of the roof.

"Your Panpour is still energetic, too," Jasmine said with a giggle. Then, as Cress sat down, she became more serious. A concerned light shone in her eyes as she spoke, "But you don't seem to be. What's wrong?" Reaching across the table, she took his hand and gently gripped it. "You know you can talk to me, right? Friend to friend, Gym Leader to Gym Leader, whatever you need."

"That's the thing, Jasmine... I'm not a Gym Leader anymore. Chili and Cilan and I... we resigned."

"What?! But... but why? Didn't you tell me once that it was your dream to be a Gym Leader?"

"Yes, and it still is." Cress sighed. "You must have heard about what happened at the Unova Pokemon League, right? About Ghetsis and Team Plasma?"

She nodded. "Lance had heard it from Alder. He told Clair, and Clair told Janine and I."

"Ghetsis was ultimately stopped by a girl called White and disappeared right after that. But she couldn't get there on her own. Her friend Bianca had been tipped off about the attack and began running through the region gathering up all of us Gym Leaders to help her. By the time Bianca reached us... White had everything all wrapped up. The three of us stayed in Striation City with no idea what was going on, and we couldn't help her..."

Jasmine gently squeezed Cress's hand a little tighter. "But that wasn't your fault. I know if you'd gotten word in time you would have been right there helping."

"Of course we would. But not everyone saw it that way... Ghetsis had these three minions called the Shadow Triad. They appear and disappear and do a lot of his dirty work. And when my brothers and I didn't arrive in time, they assumed that it was us working with Team Plasma." He grimaced at the shocked look on her face. "I suppose it makes sense for them to think that, after what they had been through..."

"Sorry for the wait!" the maître d' suddenly interrupted, startling them both. "If you two are ready to order, I am ready to take it!" Then he noticed the looks on their faces. "Is everything all right?"

"Oh! Yes, it is!" Jasmine said hurriedly. "Um, I'll just have my usual!" She smiled, hoping it came off as sweet and carefree.

"Very well, Miss Jasmine. And for you, sir?" Cress flipped through the menu without really looking at it. So wrapped up in his thoughts was he that he picked something random and didn't hear his own words. "As you wish. Your orders will be right out!"

Once the maître d' had left, Jasmine immediately dropped her smile and focused back on Cress. "They really thought you were the Shadow Triad?"

He nodded. "But then they came to Striaton and battled us. They... they curbstomped us, and then they disappeared. And we realized that we aren't good enough trainers on our own. Like... it takes all three of us together to measure up to one trainer..."

_"We have to admit it," Cress muttered to his brothers, picking up a broken vase off of the floor after the battle, "the three leaders of Striaton City make one full-fledged trainer."_

_Cilan nodded, running a hand through his green hair. "You're right." His green eyes glanced from Chili's red to Cress's blue. "Chili. Cress. I think as long as the three of us act like the Gym Leaders we are now, nothing will ever change."_

_The redhead blinked. "I didn't think you would be the first to say that."_

_"Of course, I, Cress, was thinking about that, too."_

_Cilan nodded again. "All right. Let's resign as Gym Leaders and start our training over from the ground up. Then, I'm sure one of us will become a Trainer everyone recognizes as great."_

"We stayed long enough to help decide the new Gym Leaders. And then... that was it. We decided to each go our own way for a while and train on our own, and we'd meet back up in Striaton later on."

He looked into Jasmine's eyes, awaiting her reaction, and it hit her like a ton of bricks - it was self-doubt that she saw in his eyes when he showed up at the gym. She had seen the bonds between the three brothers, and she knew how confident they were when they were together. Splitting up like this was a huge deal for them - a bold move on the path to improvement that they were still unsure of. "Cress..." She swallowed, trying to maintain a brave, supportive face for him. "Well then. You're welcome to stay with me for as long as you like."

Cress nodded and squeezed her hand, like she had his earlier. "I had planned to stay here for a while, then make my way to Cerulean City. I feel like I could learn a lot from the Water-Type Gym Leader there."

"You probably can. Misty's really good at that kind of stuff..." After a brief moment of hesitation, Jasmine moved her chair around the table and scooted closer to him. "If it makes you feel any better, I still think you're a great trainer. And I know you're going to do great. I could even train with you for a while, as long as you're in Olivine." Both of her hands were now folded on the table around his, and her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest. As she felt her face heat up, she realized that this had to have been the boldest thing she had ever done - but if he could be bold, then so could she. "And honestly, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have sitting with me right now."

He closed his eyes briefly, allowing himself to be comforted by her closeness and the feel of her hands. A cool breeze blew in from the sea, but sitting next to Jasmine made him feel so warm he barely noticed it. A moment of silence passed before he opened his eyes again, gracing her with a soft smile - a genuine smile this time. "I do feel better, actually," he breathed. A lowered voice seemed appropriate at this moment, he decided; with only the top half of the sun visible above the horizon dying the landscape orange and the sky pink and purple, and a renewed confidence in himself, and the gentle glow of faith in Jasmine's eyes... everything was perfect.

A gentle throat-clearing noise from the maître d' was heard, startling Cress and Jasmine for a second time that night. "Your orders," he explained, setting down a tray in front of each of them. "Sorry about interrupting your moment..." He glanced down at his feet, clearly embarassed about it. "Enjoy your meal." With that, he walked away.

Cress glanced after him, then returned his gaze to Jasmine - and couldn't help but laugh, seeing how red she was. "You look like a boiled Corphish right now," he teased. "You should see your face."

"Cress!"

"It's not an insult. To be honest, I think it's really cute when you blush like that." His grin widened. "Thank you for listening to me, Jasmine. And thank you for your support." With that, he leaned towards her and gently brushed his lips against her cheek. "It really means a lot." Jasmine immediately stiffened up, clearly overwhelmed by the sudden gesture, to which Cress just smiled. Then he turned his attention to his plate. "Let's eat!"

Panpour remained in its spot on the roof. It had heard everything its trainer below had said, and it was happy. The blue monkey took a bite out of the Berry it had swiped off a plate held by the maître d' earlier in the evening and watched the sun disappear below the horizon.


End file.
